illinois library association april 2014 · the illinois library association is the voice for...

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The Illinois Library Association Reporteris a forum for those who are improving and reinventing Illinois libraries, with articles that seek to: explore new ideas and practices from all types of libraries and library systems; examine the challenges facing the profession; and inform the library community and its supporters with news and comment about importantissues. The ILA Reporter is produced and circulated with the purpose of enhancing and supporting the valueof libraries, which provide free and equal access to information. This access is essential for an open democraticsociety, an informed electorate, and the advancement of knowledge for all people.

The ILA Reporter is published six times/year (Feb., Apr., June, Aug., Oct., Dec.) and is a benefit of ILA membership; the subscription rate for nonmembers is $25.ISSN 0018-9979. Designed by Verso Design Corp., Joliet, Ill. Printed by Aspen PrintingServices. Indexed by EBSCO in Library & Information Science Source. The ILA Reporterwas first published in 1962.

See ILA calendar for submission deadlines for the ILA Reporter. Copy should be submitted by e-mail to [email protected]. You are encouraged to include digital or film photos (black/white or color) and graphics (on disk or camera-ready) with your articles, which will be included on a space-available basis.

The Illinois Library Association is the voice for Illinois libraries and the millions who dependon them. It provides leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement oflibrary services in Illinois and for the library community in order to enhance learning andensure access to information for all. It is the eighth oldest library association in the worldand the third largest state association in the United States, with members in academic,public, school, government, and special libraries. Its 3,200 members are primarily librarians and library staff, but also trustees, publishers, and other supporters.

The Illinois Library Association has four full-time staff members. It is governed by a sixteen-member executive board, made up of elected officers. The associationemploys the services of Kolkmeier Consulting for legislative advocacy. ILA is a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization.

ON THE COVERThe cover illustration is from Edward Gorey’s The Osbick Bird,one of the more than one hundred books created by this Chicago-born artist during his lifetime. Gorey’s works are the subject of two fascinating exhibitions on display at the LoyolaUniversity Museum of Art through June 15. Dip into the articlebeginning on page 4 for a look at the exhibits in light of our recentpolar winter. Related public programs in April and May include lectures on scary characters in children’s literature, readings, and other tales of the dark side of Gorey’s work, including Lincoln Park’s only remaining grave, the Couch Mausoleum. For more information, visit LUC.edu/luma.

3April 2014 | ILA REPORTER

2013/2014 EXECUTIVE BOARD

PRESIDENTSu Erickson, Robert Morris University

VICE PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-ELECTJeannie Dilger, La Grange Public Library

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTPamela Van Kirk

TREASURERLeora Siegel, Chicago Botanic Garden

DIRECTORSKeshia Garnett, Chicago Public LibraryKate Hall, New Lenox Public Library DistrictJeanne Hamilton, Charleston Carnegie Public LibraryRick McCarthy, Gail Borden Public Library DistrictScott E. Pointon, White Oak Library DistrictCarol E. Reid, Heartland Community College LibraryBecky Robinson, Illinois School Library Media AssociationAmanda E. Standerfer, The Lumpkin Family FoundationChristina Stoll, Arlington Heights Memorial LibraryEllen Sutton, College of DuPage LibrarySusan L. Westgate, Carol Stream Public Library

ALA COUNCILORDenise Zielinski, Joliet Public Library

EX OFFICIOAnne B. Craig, Illinois State LibraryRobert P. Doyle, Illinois Library Association

EDITORRobert P. Doyle

CONTENTSA P R I L 2 0 1 4 | V O L U M E X X X I I I S S U E 2

33 W. Grand Ave., Ste. 401 | Chicago, IL 60654-6799 phone: 312-644-1896 | fax: 312-644-1899e-mail: [email protected] | www.ila.org

FEATURES4 CELEBRATING FAMOUS AND SOON TO BE

FAMOUS ILLINOIS AUTHORSby Robert P. Doyle

8 THE WRITER ON THE BRIDGE: CREATIVEWRITERS IN ILLINOIS LIBRARIESby Diana Brawley Sussman

12 REFERENCE RENOVATIONby Nancy Kim Phillips

16 REFERENCE LANDSCAPE: PUBLIC AND ACADEMIC, LIVE AND VIRTUAL, NEW AND OLDby M. Kathleen Kern

19 NEW MEMBERS

OPINION & COMMENTARY20 MY TURN

by Joshua Farnum

4 ILA REPORTER | February 2014

his winter has been a challenge—the snow, the cold,the tornados. The first day of March, six more inchesof snow—yet another day to stay inside as the mediareminds us that we live in “Chiberia.”

Instead, I head to the Loyola University Museum of Art for an exhibition celebrating a well-known Chicago illustrator andauthor. Think dark, foreboding, and lurking disasters—thoseseem to be the themes for the current exhibit celebrating the illustrations and stories of Edward Gorey (1925–2000). It is a perfect display of Victorian and Edwardian sophistication countered by images of the hilarious and the horrific, a delicateyet witty balance. The exhibit contains original pen-and-ink illustrations, unpublished drawings, illustrated envelopes, book-cover ideas, and theatrical costume designs. This exhibitwith its impeding doom themes and fantastic macabre humorseems most appropriate for this Chicago winter.

4 ILA REPORTER | April 2014

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[continued on page 6]

Celebrating Famous

| Robert P. Doyle, Illinois Library Association |

and Soon to Be Famous Illinois Authors

The Gashlycrumb Tinies, 1963

5April 2014 | ILA REPORTERDragon and Man Exchange Gifts, circa 1950


Gorey was born in Chicago to an artistic family: his father was a newsman and writer and his maternal grandmother, Helen St.John Garvey, was a greeting-card designer and illustrator. A childprodigy, who drew pictures at age two and taught himself to readby three, Gorey excelled at school, including Francis W. ParkerSchool and the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1943 he left Chicagoand spent two years in the Army before enrolling at HarvardUniversity, graduating in 1950. A few years later, Gorey moved to New York City where he worked in the art department atDoubleday Publishing Company. In his spare time, Goreyworked on his own art and received a glowing review in The New Yorker by Edmund Wilson in 1959, which helped to launch his career. In 1962 he established The Fantod Press to publish his works. A prolific writer, he wrote over one hundredbooks from 1953 to 1999.

Throughout his life, Gorey avoided explaining his work and was often reluctant to disclose personal information. He isremembered by some as the tall, bearded man in the sneakers, fur coat, and long scarf who rarely missed a performance of theNew York City Ballet. He is known by others for his distinctivegreeting cards, T-shirts, calendars, posters, mugs, jewelry, and thelike. He is probably known most widely for the art used for theopening credits of Boston Public Television’s series Mystery!.

He is certainly known for his black-and-white images, as heexplained: “I do work in color from time to time—water-coloreddrawings rather than watercolors; my seeming predilection forblack and white is partially accountable to the fact that I knewfrom the beginning it was almost impossible to get my sort ofbook published in color on account of the expense, and eventually I ended up thinking in black and white.”

[continued from page 4]

B is for Basil assaulted by bears from The Gashlycrumb Tinies

When asked why violence and humor are frequent themes in hisworks, Gorey replied, “I write about reality.” Despite the darkthemes, his works often appeal to children. He was frequentlycommissioned to create covers and interior illustrations for young people’s books. In typically small books, texts are kept to a minimum, and children are often the protagonists. In The Gashlycrumb Tinies (1963), an alphabet book that dispatchesone tiny tot per letter, from “Amy, who fell down the stairs” to“Zillah, who drank too much gin,” readers are more engaged bythe illustrations and rhymes than distressed by the sad fates: “M is Maud who was swept out to sea, N is for Neville who died of ennui.”

I walked out of the museum thinking the exhibit was fun andGorey uniquely creative. As librarians, we collect, we share, we preserve, we celebrate the human story. In fact, Illinois librariesconstantly celebrate authors and we are currently hoping to discover an unknown self-published author whose work will jumpoff the page for readers. The winner of The Soon to Be FamousIllinois Author project (soontobefamous.info) will be announcedduring National Library Week, April 13 to 19, 2014. And, if youare in Chicago, I think you might enjoy viewing the exhibit of analready famous Illinois author at the Loyola University Museumof Art (820 North Michigan Avenue), which runs until June 15, 2014.

The Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago & the Loyola University ChicagoLibraries present the comprehensive Edward Gorey exhibits. This is the firstmajor exhibition of Gorey’s work in his hometown. Works are drawn from thecollection of Thomas Michalak, a Loyola alumnus and recently retired HarvardUniversity librarian, the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, the Edward Gorey House,and other private collectors. Illustration(s) © The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust.All rights reserved.


Public Programs Related to the ExhibitionsFrom Grimm to Gorey: The Scary Character of Children’s LiteratureTuesday, April 1, 6:00 P.M.Edwin Frank, editor of the New York Review of Books Classics, willlook at children’s books as literature and in relation to other kinds of genre literature—such as crime, detective, and ghost stories;fantasy, romance; and science fiction. Admission is $4 for the publicand free for LUMA members and the Loyola community.

A Fanciful High TeaFriday, April 4, 3:00 P.M.This afternoon tea will feature actors from the Dead Writers TheatreCollective who will present readings by Gorey that are darkly humorous—The Gashlycrumb Tinies; The Epiplectic Bicycle; TheDisrespectful Summons; The Wuggly Ump; The Doubtful Guest; The Evil Garden; and The Salt Herring. Admission is $45 for the public and $40 for LUMA members and the Loyola community.

Third Annual Gregory and Rosalind Terry LectureAscending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey and His Sources (an exercise in presumption)Wednesday, April 9, 7:00 P.M.The Loyola University Chicago Libraries host Karen Wilkin, an experton and friend of Edward Gorey. Wilkin will be joined by Michalak andAndreas Brown, who is credited with building Gorey’s career by promoting his work at Brown’s Gotham Book Mart. This event willtake place at the Crown Center Auditorium on Loyola’s Lake ShoreCampus, located at 1001–25 W. Loyola Avenue. Admission is free.

Goreyesque: A Tribute to Edward Gorey in Words and ImagesTuesday, April 29, 6:00 P.M.Contributors to Goreyesque, an online literary journal featuring work inspired by Gorey’s storytelling and visual aesthetic, will present an evening of readings. The journal includes fiction, essays, poetry, and artwork, and features, among others, darklyhumorous short stories and poems in verse. The program is freewith museum admission.

The Hidden Truths of Lincoln ParkSaturday, May 10, 11:00 A.M.To highlight the dark side of Gorey’s work, LUMA will host a tourfeaturing a talk on the cemetery that used to be in what is nowLincoln Park and its only remaining grave—the Couch Mausoleum.The talk will feature artist Pamela Bannos from NorthwesternUniversity. We will meet at 10:45 A.M. inside the Chicago HistoryMuseum at the North & Clark Café. The address is 1601 N. ClarkStreet. Admission for the public is $8 with pre-payment only and $5 for LUMA members and the Loyola community.

The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr. Earbras Writes a Novel, 1963


ight-five percent of the human race wants to write abook.” Jamie LaRue cited this Pew Study statistic in his presentation, “What Does the Future Library LeaderLook Like?” at ILEAD USA on October 23, 2013.

As director of Douglas County Libraries in Colorado, he was inColorado when he said this, while I watched on a screen in a darkened auditorium in Illinois. As a writer and secret member ofthe eighty-five percent, I felt utterly humbled by that statistic, but as a librarian I felt motivated to find out what libraries are doing tohelp me and my six billion compadres to achieve our shared goal.

In looking for answers, I found myself viewing yet another relatable onscreen moment. It was a tongue-in-cheek promotionalvideo called It’s a Writingful Life: The Soon To Be Famous IllinoisAuthor Project. Librarian Veronda Pitchford plays a struggling nov-elist stuck in the writing process. She throws her incomplete noveloff a bridge, conveying a common frustration for authors—a lack of meaningful and accessible resources for writers workingon a book in a world where most writers’ groups, classes and workshops are designed for critiquing shorter work.

Ironically, the Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author Project does not address that problem. They do, however, address a differentproblem: marketing a finished book in a world where more booksare published than ever before. The project is coordinated by theIllinois Library Association and Reaching Across Illinois LibrarySystem with support from the American Library AssociationDigital Content Working Group, the Public Library Association,and the Illinois Heartland Library System. Illinois libraries havenominated 103 self-published novels by Illinois authors. One ofthose novels will be selected and announced during NationalLibrary Week, and that author will be made famous through thisvery effective network of libraries. For more information on theproject, visit soontobefamous.info/.

This project is very much a product of its time. About twentyyears ago when I was working on a BA in Creative Writing self-publishing was discussed as a shameful career-ending optionfor writers who’d failed at the peer review process provided by thepublishing industry. That elitism is rapidly fading. Today manywriters seem disenchanted with the narrow market-driven chancesoffered by the mainstream publishing industry, so they are side-stepping that route, and peer review is being replaced bycrowd sourcing.

LaRue offers evidence of this sea change, explaining that sixteen of the last one hundred New York Times best sellers, and 50 percent of the current bestselling e-books are self-published. The rationale, he explains, is that authors who publish with the “big five” publishers will keep 10 percent of their profit. The publisher keeps 90 percent, plus the copyright. Authors self-publishing on Amazon.com will keep 70 percent of profit, plus copyright. With Smashwords the author keeps 85 percent,plus copyright. Consequently, LaRue explains, we’ve progressedfrom 300,000 new titles per year to close to a million. The problem has switched from how to get published to how to getnoticed, which presents libraries withan expanded role, notjust in promotingbooks, but in, asLaRue says, “makingan ally of the creatorof content.”

E“

The Writer on the Bridge: | Diana Brawley Sussman, Carbondale Public Library |

Current and PotentialServices for Creative Writersin Illinois Libraries


Students voting for their favorite haiku with Dr. Randy Brooks haiku instructor at the kukai-friendly haiku competition.

“Eighty-five percent of the human race wants to write a book.”

WRITING BY THE NUMBERS

I polled Illinois libraries about their creative writing programs and interactive services for writers. Forty-eight public libraries, one school, and one academic library responded. Twenty-eightrespondents support the publishing and promotional efforts oflocal authors through instructional programs or promotionalopportunities such as book fairs and author talks. Skokie PublicLibrary cited “The Ten Secrets to Getting Your Book SuccessfullyPublished” as one of their most successful programs for writers.Addison Public Library partners with area libraries on an annualseries: “Inside Writing and Publishing,” wherein publishers,authors and other “insiders” offer informational sessions.

LaRue suggests publishing local authors’ e-books. No Illinoislibraries reported publishing books by local authors in any format,although five respondents publish or partner in publishing a literary magazine, and Pembroke Public Library District is assisting its Anime club with publishing and marketing a bookthey’ve created, which includes local history and personal stories from patrons.

As for honing the craft, Illinois libraries support work in everygenre for every age group. Novel writing is offered for adults atthirteen responding libraries, for teens at eleven, and for children at three. Graphic novels, creative nonfiction, short stories, poetry,drama or screenwriting, and mixed genre writing are all offered forevery age group. The most common programs include sixteenpoetry programs for teens, sixteen memoir or creative nonfictionprograms for adults, and fifteen short story programs for adults.Poetry was the most offered genre for children, and the most common contest genre for every age group.

Some programs have a specific focus. For example, ChampaignCentennial High School Library was featured in VOYA Magazinein 2008 for “Haiku Cut!: Reading and Writing Haiku PoetryWorkshop” for high school creative writing and photography students. However, “writers’ groups” seem to be the most common

program, with writers meeting regularly to inspire and critique oneanother. This is what Carbondale Public Library offers to childrenwriting poetry and adults writing short stories, with MFA studentsas volunteer leaders. Leaders at other libraries have various qualifications from MFA or BFA degrees to success as publishedauthors. Leaders are a mix of library staff, paid instructors, volunteers, and group members.

Getting back to the problem of the would-be author throwing her unfinished novel over a bridge—eleven libraries indicated thatthey offer long term support for authors working on book lengthmanuscripts. This support seems to be happening in writer’sgroups. Algonquin Area Public Library District offers two participant-led monthly writers’ groups: Creativity Cafe offers writing prompts; their formal critique night offers feedback.Several participants are working on books, and author Amy GailHansen worked on her novel The Butterfly Sister in Algonquin’swriting groups. The critique group’s co-moderator Brad Mathisexplains that writers sign up for a time slot, bring copies, then readtheir work aloud, followed by group feedback. Many of the longerworks shared are parts of books or long manuscripts. I suspect thatreading aloud, as opposed to reading the piece prior to class,reduces the time commitment members invest in one another,allowing more writers to be critiqued in a session. Often, the logistical problem with critiquing books in processis that each writer, in addition to writing her ownbook, must simultaneouslyread and edit multiplebooks being written by others in the writing group.Reading aloud changes that process.



LESSONS FROM THE LOFT

Illinois libraries do a great deal to inspire, support, and teach writers, but writers working on a book still seem to be adapting a short format model to meet their long format needs. Literarycenters offer some models that libraries might want to try. Only six libraries responded that they provide mentorship programsbetween established and emerging writers.

I first encountered mentorship programs at The Loft LiteraryCenter in Minneapolis. The Loft’s Program Manager, VanessaRamos, explained that mentorships differ from critique groups, or visiting authors answering writers’ questions. Mentorships entailboth one-on-one and group sessions. She feels that it’s really aboutbuilding a relationship between the established and emerging writers, and shaping the individual writer’s work. When recentlyasked for a list of local writers who had participated in The Loft’smentorship programs and are now well known established writers,Ramos easily came up with at least fifteen names. Many say theycould not have completed their first book without the mentorship.The Loft’s mentorship programs have people working across genres—a characteristic shared by successful long-standing writinggroups at Eisenhower Public Library District, Oak Lawn PublicLibrary and others. Ramos says this “pushes people out of theircomfort zones in a way that feeds their own work and process.”For example, “Looking at poetry can add muscle and music toyour prose.”

Ramos also talked about the incubator programs at Grub Street, a literary center in Massachusetts: Six writers are selected throughan application process to work with two authors on finishing a manuscript and publication proposal over the course of a year.The mentoring authors and participants each read and critique thesix books in progress. The cost is around $7,000 per participant.The Loft also offers classes in structuring a manuscript, as well asmatchmaking for manuscript consultation services wherein writerswork with a consultant for a fee.

There are differences between libraries and literary centers, particularly the funding structure and scope of services. However,there are far more libraries than literary centers, which meansthat libraries have an excellent opportunity to serve local writers.Perhaps Illinois libraries could partner in sponsoring a localauthor or two to mentor a handful of authors working on a first book, as selected through a contest. Perhaps our bookgroups would have fun occasionally reading and discussing anunpublished draft from a local author in place of publishedbook. They could hear about the writer’s process, offer feedbackand one day receive credit in the author’s acknowledgements.Forest Park Public Library provided similar real-world feedbackfor students in Columbia College Chicago’s Fiction Writing program. The students met with teen writers at the library toswap feedback.

Libraries and literary centers provide exciting program models toassist our “creators of content.” By continuing and expanding services for writers, I believe Illinois libraries can reach out to morewriters standing on bridges about to toss over unfinished books. I offer this challenge to myself as a librarian, and to you, my colleagues: Let’s find those writers. Let’s help them off the bridge.


“Today many writers seem disenchanted with the narrow, market-driven chancesoffered by the mainstream publishing industry, so they are side-stepping thatroute, and peer review is being replaced by crowd sourcing.”


Reference Renovation

| Nancy Kim Phillips, Arlington Heights Memorial Library |

Mr. and Mrs. Hartrey have just enteredthe Arlington Heights Memorial Library (AHML) from the

underground parking lot. Mr. Hartrey needs information about aToyota Prius he’d like to purchase. Mrs. Hartrey is looking for the title of

David Baldacci’s latest book and wants to register for a computer class. A woman wearing a library badge greets them pleasantly. “Good morning,how can I assist you today?” She is standing near a large colorful tower

with four gleaming countertops extending outward, each equippedwith a computer. A sign at the top of the tower says “Info.”

The Hartreys have come to the right place.Sam scans the shelves in the nonfiction

area, looking for books to prepare for his GRE test.He hears someone ask, “Excuse me—are you finding

everything you need?” and turns to see a staff person holding an iPad and wearing a headset. A few minutes later, Sam not onlyhas several books to check out, but he has also learned how to

access an online test preparation database, right there inthe stacks.

At the last minute, Barbara’s daughterneeds books on Greek mythology for a homework

assignment. Sighing, Barbara dials the library’s main number and asks for Kids World. Instead of transferring her,

the person on the other end of the line says, “I can help you withthat,” and promises to deliver the identified books to the

library’s drive-up window. Barbara begins to think that thismight be easier than she anticipated.


ver the past year and in conjunction with a physicalrenovation of the library, AHML implemented a new model for information services. Its focus is connecting customers with the materials and

information they want as easily as possible, in ways that will surprise and delight them. The model was particular to our libraryand our patrons, but draws on many of the trends and practicesthat all types of libraries, large and small, are developing.

BREAKING DOWN DEPARTMENT WALLS

As a customer it is frustrating to bounce around from place toplace to have your question(s) answered. Over thirty staff drawnfrom reception, advisory, reference, and magazine and newspaperareas joined to form Info Services. The goal of this blendedgroup is to answer the vast majority of questions without referring customers to someone or someplace else. Staff offer customers the full range of library resources available on a giventopic, whether books, magazines, databases, classes, or programs.Beyond Info Services, all library staff are encouraged to answerany question to the level of which they are capable, regardless of department or position.

SHORING UP THE ENTRYWAYS

In order to focus on each individual, however he or she comesin contact with the library, staff answer calls, online chats, and e-mails from a call center. This idea was first implemented on asmall scale several years ago by diverting calls from the referencedesk to a librarian in the back office. Once Info Services wasformed, a pilot call center provided valuable insight for the finalsetup. Each month, staff answer an average 4,700 referencequestions by telephone and 300 online chats, making AHMLthe most active Illinois public library in OCLC’s QuestionPointnetwork.

“It’s amazing what a difference it makes with no phones ringingin the public area. Staff at the Info Desk are available to assistpeople without interruption,” observes Jeremy Andrykowski,senior manager of Customer Services at AHML. The four armsof the Info Desk are long enough to work side by side with customers, creating a collaborative learning environment.

O


EXPANDING THE FRAME OF REFERENCE

Librarians know that some customers will leave empty-handed,rather than “bother” staff for help. Info Services staff step awayfrom the desk, not only to accompany a customer to the stacks,but also to seek customers who look lost or uncertain and offerhelp on the spot. While roving with an iPad or Surface tablet,staff can confirm the availability of materials, place holds, anddemonstrate how to use the catalog, databases, or e-materials.When asked if they need help, customers often answer with anappreciative, “Yes! I’m trying to find…”

One question may lead to others that would have never beenraised if staff had not been proactive in the first place. Evenwhen customers decline assistance, most are thankful and feelmore comfortable approaching staff in the future. Learningfrom Gail Borden Public Library District’s use of mobile radioswhile roving, AHML staff use walkie-talkies connected to headsets to communicate with each other and shift fluidlybetween call center and the public service area, based on customer needs.



“When asked if they need help, customersoften answer with an appreciative, Yes! I’m trying to find…”

BUILDING UPON A STRONG FOUNDATIONOF CUSTOMER SERVICE

AHML’s organizational structure, physical layout, and technology tools all support an underlying philosophy of “customers first,” which not only shapes the library’s approach to information services but is also embedded in the institutionalculture. Customers enjoy over-the-top efforts to track downinformation and materials and keep them coming back. Even the simplest requests garner appreciation and positive feedback, as long as service has been delivered in a friendly and prompt manner.

We are not the first library to blend services, create a call center,or rove. However, a new model of information services hasemerged that is unique in its delivery, based on the library’s size,physical layout, culture, and the community served. Whilechanges in information services at AHML were integrated witha physical renovation, you can be the architect of your own reference renovation without construction.

• It can start with a different mindset, opening up expectationsof who can answer what questions, combined with trust instaff and a commitment to training.

• Designate off-desk staff to answer phone calls to free up colleagues at the desk for in-house customers.

• Try standing in front of the reference desk and proactivelyapproaching customers at common points of need, such as catalog stations.

• Experiment, tweak, and experiment again.

Whether you are inspired by another library’s experience or your own best experiences as a customer outside the libraryworld, consider concepts you might borrow, and don’t wait for physical changes to “renovate” your library’s reference model to serve customers in new and exciting ways.


http://www.ila.org/joblinePositions for Librarians and Support StaffAll employer job openings are listed on the ILA Web site (www.ila.org/jobline) for 30 days and the cost is $100.

Library Jobline of Illinois


Q: What’s your view of how reference services have changedat the University of Illinois over the last decade or so?

A: Like most libraries, we experienced a decline in the volume ofrequests, with the greatest decrease in the late 1990s and early2000s. But you might be surprised to know that in each of thelast two years we’ve seen a 7 percent annual increase, both byphone and in-person, with those requests at our main referencedesk totaling about 15,000 last year. We started virtual reference thirteen years ago, and those requests have seen anaverage increase of 15 percent each year since we started. Wepassed 10,000 per year several years ago, and handled over12,000 last year. Declining reference numbers do not alarmme. There’s no reason to expect to go back to the levels of the1990s, that’s not the goal. The goal is to make information easyto find, without impediment. We do seem to have a higherpercentage of difficult questions, people who have alreadylooked and failed to find things on their own.

Q: Tell me a little more about how your virtual reference is structured?

A: We’ve used a variety of platforms since we started. Currentlywe use chat with instant messages coming in through the “Aska Librarian” widget on our website. They’re totally familiar withthis type of service, whether from online shopping or services.They know there are two types of blank boxes on websites: one for chat, and one for search. We take in all kinds of questions—help conduct research, as well as answering basicquestions on holdings, that sort of thing.

We have a number of libraries on campus, almost like a librarywith branches. But chat is a single service, staffed by a group ofpeople from across the university libraries. If a question needs a subject specialist, we’ll make a referral—sometimes we canfind the specialist online, but if not, they respond to the patronby email, phone, or make an appointment. The chat systemdoesn’t make the patron decide where to go to ask—again, the goal is to avoid creating any impediments.

Virtual responses do take longer than in person. We madesome reductions in reference staffing hours about ten years ago,but levels have held steady over the last five years, maybeincreased. The general reference services are now staffed byabout sixty people across subject libraries, and we typically co-staff, both for in-person/phone services and have a dedicateddesk for virtual services.

The Reference Landscape: Public and Academic, Live and Virtual, New and Old M. Kathleen Kern is president of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American

Library Association, and associate reference librarian University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As such, she has

a unique perspective on the current climate in reference services, both from a major research university library

and as president of RUSA. With bothpublic and academic libraries reviewing and refining their reference functions,

ILA asked Kern to comment on the broader landscape.

| M. Kathleen Kern, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |

Q: Drawing on your experience, can you share some tips that you think apply to all types of libraries in rethinking reference services?

A: The most important thing is to watch your own patterns.Trends can be national, but they’re also local. Stay aware ofwhat other people are doing, but you need to do what worksfor your library. What’s new to you, maybe be old news tosomeone else and vice versa. Smaller libraries have done a lotof things out of necessity that some larger ones are tryingnow, and they may or may not be the best course for them.For instance, our undergraduate library tried combining circulation with reference, but now they’ve switched to separate reference services at café tables with scheduled roving. As far as virtual reference, take a page from theonline marketers—product placement is everything! Put it everywhere you can think of, and drive traffic to it.

Q: In your role with RUSA, what do you see libraries looking for to help them find their way through this reference revolution?

A: We’re seeing increasing demand for training for frontline,non-MLS staff who are now working reference—more registrations, more requests. I personally see this as a goodthing. We’ve got some very bright people working in our libraries and this is a way to keep them interested. RUSA still offers a four-week course on the reference interview, and we always fill the registration quota, so there’s clearly still a need for traditional services. We compliment this with a series of webinars, both free and fee based, and they all tend to fill as well.www.ala.org/rusa/development/onlinece

Q: Any last words?

A: I worked in a corporate reference library before getting myMLS, and in fact, it was the reference experience that made mewant to go to library school. That was the motivation. I thinksome of these new expanded models of reference services whereMLS and non-MLS staff collaborate can draw new people intothe profession. That may be a side benefit to providing the bestservices we can to our patrons and making the best use of ourresources, but it’s a great one.


The ILA Nominating Committee has announced the candidatesfor election in the spring of 2014.

For vice president/president-elect (three-year term beginning July 1, 2014 — June 30, 2017):

President-Elect candidatesBetsy Adamowski, Wheaton Public LibraryTina Hubert, Six Mile Regional Library District, Granite City

Board of Directors (three-year term beginning July 1, 2014 —June 30, 2017). A candidate from each pairing will be elected inaccordance with the ILA bylaws as amended at the 1998 ILAAnnual Conference; a total of four directors will be elected toserve three-year terms on the ILA Executive Board.

Director-at-Large:Rob Morrison, National Louis University, WheelingSusan Prokopeak, Joliet Junior College

Director-at-Large:Beth Duttlinger, Lillie M. Evans Public Library District, PrincevilleAnne Hughes, Glen Carbon Centennial Library

Director-at-Large:Jeremy Dunn, Chicago Public LibraryBrock Peoples, Dunlap Public Library District

Director-at-Large:Roxane E. Bennett, Fox River Valley Public Library District, DundeeVeronica DeFazio, Plainfield Public Library District

Any ILA member wishing to be added to the ballot by petition maycall the ILA office for information. Nominations by petition for anelective office shall be proposed in writing by at least one hundred(100) personal members of the association and delivered to the executive office by March 1, 2014. Candidates for director nominated by petition shall be added to the slate and placed in thepaired candidate group that most clearly matches the affiliations ofthe petitioner as determined by the nominating committee. Petition candidates for vice president/president-elect will be added to thepresidential slate as requested. The polls will open electronically April 1, 2014. In addition, paper ballots will be sent to personsrequesting one. The return deadline is thirty (30) days after the ballot is postmarked. The electronic polls will close April 30.

Serving on the nominating committee are Gail Bush, DeanneHolshouser, Allen Lanham, Amanda McKay, Diane McNulty, Janice Sherman, and Pamela Van Kirk, chair.

ILA CANDIDATES FOR 2014


CO-MEMBERSCathy Senior, Charleston

INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSDoyle Public Library District, RaymondLacon Public LibraryMidland CUSD #7, VarnaWabash Valley College, Mount Carmel

PERSONAL MEMBERSCatherine Almendinger, Downers GroveTodd Bruns, Eastern Illinois University, CharlestonCatherine E. Calvert, Parlin-Ingersoll Public Library, CantonErin Donlan, Gail Borden Public Library District, ElginJuliette Douglass, Six Mile Regional Library District,

Granite CityKirstin Duffin, Eastern Illinois University, CharlestonSally Gibson, Illinois State University, NormalLynn Hoffman, Naperville Public LibraryEnviah M. Ingram, Chicago State UniversityAnn Kershner, Palatine Public Library DistrictAnnabelle Mortensen, SkokieBenjamin R. Smith, Parlin-Ingersoll Public Library, CantonGayle Strode Blodgett, Spoon River Public Library District,

CubaKelly Von Zee, Addison Public Library, DarienDawn Walden, Woodridge Public Library, PlainfieldNikeda Webb, Matteson Public Library

STUDENT MEMBERSMary Aylmer, Decatur Public LibraryScott Grotto, Ella Johnson Memorial Public Library District,

DeKalbAshley M. Jacoby, Bedford Public Library, Bloomington, INCarol L. Warner, Lake Geneva, WI

SUPPORT STAFF MEMBERSMartha Cordeniz O’Hara, Lake BluffJori Daniels, ITT Technical Institute, Arlington HeightsDebbie Evans, Zion-Benton Public Library District

TREUSTEE MEMBERSJ. B. Carr, Bellwood Public LibraryWendy Driver, Zion-Benton Public Library DistrictLydia M. Hodges, Villa Park Public LibraryCheryl Kennedy, Mahomet Public Library DistrictMike McCain, Fossil Ridge Public Library District, BraidwoodJames O’Hagan, Rockford Public LibraryDenis O’Keefe, Skokie Public LibraryAdriene Osborne Ives, Golden Prairie Public Library District,

BloomingtonDorothy Schardt, Indian Prairie Public Library, WillowbrookSharon Tharpe, Bellwood Public Library

We would love to welcome your friends and colleagues, too. By sponsoring a new member,

you share the benefits of membership with others … and help create a stronger and more

effective voice to promote the highest quality library services for all people in Illinois.

ILA Welcomes New Members


hen Joeshun picked up the rubber chicken, I pretty much figured the interview was a lostcause. We were still recording, but so far all I’dgotten was a bunch of one-word answers and

a lot of bouncing. Joeshun is one sharp kid, but he wasn’t reallyfocused on what we were doing just then, the camera was making him nervous, and the rubber chicken was all he neededto get irretrievably distracted. But then his grandfather spoke up.

Through ILEAD USA, the Chicago Public Library had somedevoted time and grant money to apply some twenty-first-centurytechnology toward a community need. We were collecting videosof our community members, and calling it City Stories/ChicagoVoices. The great part about doing this project in Chicago—andthis wasn’t even something I fully realized until we’d already beenworking on the project for some time—was that we could use thesame tools throughout the city, and adapt them to meet a varietyof needs. In one neighborhood, the project allowed us to preserveand organize existing local history resources; in another, it provided a connection with the homeless and the organizationsworking on their behalf. At Legler Branch in West Garfield Park,I realized, this project was a way to record a vital snapshot of community life.

I’d long been upset by the lack of visibility of the people in theneighborhood where I work. If you search for news articles onWest Garfield Park, you get headlines like, “Man Shot andKilled.” You get drugs and arrests, theft and murder. But whatdo I see every day? I see teens planting lettuce, families readingtogether and playing checkers, kids learning to write their ownnames—people living their lives. It’s positive, it’s personal, andit’s human, and the library can be the place where some form ofit gets preserved as a part of our city’s culture.

Anyway, I don’t know where Joeshun found the rubber chickenthat day, but he was loving it, and was totally tuned out of thevideo interview. But then his grandfather, sitting to the side, spokeup. At first he just asked his grandson what he had there, and theytalked back and forth about the chicken for a minute—but prettysoon they were chatting about the library, about computer games,and about what Joeshun wants to be when he grows up.

This, I thought as I recorded Joeshun and his grandpa talking, is the best interview I’ve gotten yet! The members of the community were there to provide their voices and their stories,and I was there to listen and preserve.

“The key thing is listening.” This was Mario, another neighborhood regular at the library, whom I also interviewed for the project. I love that he used this phrasing exactly—“The key thing is listening.”—because it gives me this greatmental image of opening doors.

Look at our shelves: the things we collect indicate what it is we value. When we collect stories like this, when the library listens to and honors the voices of the people who sustain our communities, we’re able to show that we know these stories have value.

Please take a look at a short montage of the videos I collected at Legler: “City Stories / Chicago Voices - Legler,”youtu.be/R1hGNSLgno4. It’s a great peek at life in the community, and plus, that bit with the rubber chicken is pretty hilarious.

W

| Joshua Farnum, Chicago Public Library, Legler Branch |MY TURN

It’s Not Aboutthe Rubber Chicken

33 West Grand Avenue, Suite 401Chicago, IL 60654-6799

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #126

Elgin, IL

Bradford Systems Corporation www.BRADFORDSYSTEMS.com 800.696.3453

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illinois library association april 2014 · the illinois library association is the voice for...

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